Bologna by winter

Winter can be very cold in Bologna, one of the best preserved medieval cities of central Italy, considered by some the international food capital. The restaurant and bar offer is huge, and can be daunting to look for the perfect fancy dinner spot. But this is not one of those days, this is just a cold early afternoon, you are alone, you skipped lunch and need food and shelter; or maybe it is after the movies and you are meeting your friends, some of them will want just a glass of wine, others would not mind to have some food with that wine. A good idea is the Ambasciatori bookstore, in the very core of this city: go to the top floor (there are other restaurants in the building but this is the best), and enjoy a meditative pause among books and wines. Go up by the stairs, so you will have the chance to see the beautiful inner facade of this old building, and work an appetite.

On my last time there I was alone (and in a very bad mood!) and sat at the bar. My spirits soon restored to my usual cheerful self: the waiters are super nice and they make sure you are taken care of. This is not a full service restaurant, rather a simple wine and cheese place with an additional two or three entree choices and a couple of salads. The great news is that they had a vegan choice on my visit, which was a delicious roasted cauliflower with a heavenly capers-bread topping, accompanied by a tiny beautiful and mild potato cake. One of the most appealing offer is a cold-cut plate, prosciutto, salame, and the mortadella that the city is famous for worldwide. Everything is fresh and mostly organic, so this is also a healthy choice.

If you drink wine, order local and daily special, you will drink top of the line wines at decent prices. If you are with friends, grab a bottle from the shelves and you will not be charged corkage. I generally have "Pignoletto dei colli bolognesi", the still type. It is local and delicious, a strong white which is perfect with just about anything you can eat here. Soon after my entree arrived, I got lost in its taste, and in people watching. Shelves full of interesting wines and beers grabbed my attention, and so did a couple of women discussing their Christmas plans. My bad winter day was cheered up, and so will yours. An additional bonus of this place is that you can browse books on the way out. If you can read Italian, of course!


Eataly (Osteria, top floor, Ambasciatori bookstore)
via degli Orefici 19
Bologna, Italy
http://www.eataly.it/
Mon-Sat 8am-midnight
Sun 10am-midnight
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